A man in an angry clown mask robbed a Waffle House in Atlanta early Tuesday morning. As he fled, the gunman fired a shot that struck one customer in the neck.
Officials told reporters that the injured customer was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in stable condition, after being shot in the neck.
Police told reporters that the gunman, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt,was seen pacing in the Waffle House parking lot just before 6 AM.
Then, he walked into the restaurant, and went straight for the bathroom.
“When he came out, he had a mask on,” Atlanta police Capt. Andrew Senzer explained. “He produced a gun and he essentially demanded the belongings of everybody of the store.”
At least a half dozen patrons and employees in the restaurant were menaced by the gunman. Some customers refused to comply with the robber’s demands. One victim, however, handed over his car keys and wallet to the gunman.
That man told reporters that he was frightened by the robber’s demeanor, and gave up his car keys and wallet to avoid being shot.
“I was really shocked,” Charles Fears told the media. “I gave my car up to him. I didn’t want to get shot.”
Fears told reporters the man was wearing what looked like a “Halloween costume”.
Police said the man in the clown mask eventually grabbed the cash register and ran out of the Waffle House. He loaded his ill-gotten gains in Charles Fears’ white Mercury Grand Marquis.
But one of the other customers, who still remains unidentified, went to the window to watch the gunman’s escape. The robber turned around and took a shot at the man in the window.
“The one that got shot was arguing with the guy,” Fears explained. “The guy was standing by the window and he shot through the glass.”
Photos of the crime scene do show shattered glass in the seating area.
And poor Charles Fears’ old Mercury Grand Marquis was eventually found abandoned on Georgia Tech’s nearby campus.
The cops are hoping that surveillance footage of the incident will give them a better look at the shooter’s face.
“We don’t have any further description at this time,” Captain Senzer said.
